3 Players the Philadelphia 76ers should keep next season

2. De'Anthony Melton ability to defend is valuable as long as he’s healthy

De'Anthony Melton came into the Sixers in 2022 as the franchise inserted in its cap total a team-friendly deal worth $34 million for four years. He signed that deal in 2020 as part of the Memphis Grizzlies team and joined Philadelphia via trade in 2022.

He instantly became a big part of the rotation and helped his coaches provide defensive versatility on the perimeter. The Sixers were lacking a huge part of their perimeter defensive effort during the series against the Knicks and De'Anthony Melton's absence was the reason behind the poor covers especially against Jalen Brunson.

Melton was sidelined for most of the season, and the 76ers did not boast any top-notch defenders to put on Jalen Brunson come playoff time. He appeared sporadically since January due to a back issue and only played seven minutes in the playoff series against New York

During the regular season, Melton appeared in just 38 games with the Sixers registering a plus-10.0 net rating, while Philadelphia won 25 of those 38 contests, per NBA.com. He only had seven games under his name since January and was a non-factor for the playoff opening-round series.

While, Melton does much of his work on the perimeter defensively, he also shoots a barely respectable 36.0% from beyond the arc. He might be a great fit for the next season's squad if he remains healthy and the Sixers will certainly have to weigh their options before letting other NBA teams claim him.